Board asks Common Council to solicit bids for vactor

The members of the Little Falls Board of Public Works on Tuesday evening passed a resolution requesting the city’s Common Council solicit bids for the purchase of a vactor.

The board has sought to purchase the truck which has a number of uses, ranging from clearing clogged pipes and storm drains to sucking dirt and material out of the ground for a hole, since 2010.

By Rob Juteau

The Times

By Rob Juteau

Posted Jan. 25, 2013 at 12:01 AM
Updated Jan 25, 2013 at 3:42 AM

By Rob Juteau

Posted Jan. 25, 2013 at 12:01 AM
Updated Jan 25, 2013 at 3:42 AM

Little Falls, N.Y.

The members of the Little Falls Board of Public Works on Tuesday evening passed a resolution requesting the city’s Common Council solicit bids for the purchase of a vactor.

The board has sought to purchase the truck which has a number of uses, ranging from clearing clogged pipes and storm drains to sucking dirt and material out of the ground for a hole, since 2010.

“It’s a front-line piece of equipment that would be very difficult to replace or borrow if something were to happen to the vactor our Department of Public Works has now,” said Mayor Robert Peters.

The mayor added he fears what would happen in the event there was a sewer or water problem and the city’s vactor, which is now almost 15 years old, was unable to be used because it is too old or in need of repair. “The DPW could not afford to go without this truck for months,” he said.

If the Common Council agrees to the request, commissioner Rodney St. Louis said the Board of Public Works would review the bids received and make a recommendation on which truck to purchase.

St. Louis also suggested the city should consider paying for the truck, which DPW Superintendent John Sullivan estimated would have a price tag of $300,000, if not more, outright.

“I know purchasing the truck through a lease was discussed before, but I have to believe leasing a truck will add 10 to 20 percent to the cost,” he said. “Purchasing the truck outright, at least in my opinion, would save the city and the taxpayers money. There wouldn’t be any payments or interest.”

Peters said a meeting between the Board of Public Works and city Treasurer David Petkovsek could be arranged to discuss the purchase, as the city is beginning to formulate its 2013 - 2014 budget.

“We just have rough numbers at this point in the budget process, so until the numbers have been crunched I’m not sure how the city would make the purchase, if it were approved,” he said.

The Common Council will meet on Tuesday, Feb. 5, at 7 p.m. at City Hall.